Chicago Outdoor Film Festival

The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival is a great excuse for a picnic. On Tuesdays from July 15 till August 26, Grant Park's Butler Field becomes a huge movie theater, free for you and me. This week's movie is the excellent "In the Heat of the Night." Showtime is 8:40(ish) pm. Check the site for future listings.

14th National Poetry Slam

The 14th National Poetry Slam begins today. Three-day passes will be sold by the Chopin Theater, and cover can be paid at any of the individual venues the throughout the event.
Marc Smith, a construction worker in Chicago, started an audience-participated open mike poetry slam at the Green Mill in 1986. The format spread throughout the world. Now, all the top winners are going to be descending on Chicago beginning the first full week in Chicago to see who can give the best...um...oral slam-down.